So we are wrapping up our time here in Romania and let me tell you, it has been an amazing month. From the people we have met while doing “ministry” to the people we met where we were staying. We have worked on a farm and helped pour a foundation for a house and quite possibly everything in between. We have visited a gypsy village and hung out with kids here at the Camminul Felix. Painted fences and ironed sheets, you name it and I’m pretty sure we have done it this month. In the last post I alluded to some of the things I have learned over the last few weeks. To continue with that trend let me tell you a few more things I have learned. Learned sounds a bit silly so let’s call it challenged. In no particular order here we go…..
- What “ministry” looks like- It’s not always clearly defined here at the Camminul Felix. And just as in life I feel as if it boils down to 2 simple ideas. Love God and love people. Whether that means we spend time hanging out in the gypsy village or shoveling dirt to level the ground or pouring a foundation.
- There is a reason for all of this. Why I’m here and what that looks like. Some of us have been going to church with the guy that kinda runs the farm here- Teo. This has been AWESOME. I spoke briefly in the last post about worshipping with those folks. But the series they have been going through and the message the pastor has brought the last few weeks have been encouraging and challenging at the same time. We were privileged to be there two weeks ago when the pastor laid out the vision and direction the church was headed in over the next few years. You folks back in the States be praying for the church here in Oradea. I feel as if some BIG things are around the corner and its starting with the folks in Oradea.
- Lastly there is a movement happening in my generation. Before I left I distinctly remember talking with the Byrds and the Michalaks about how we were tired of the institution of church. Not the idea of it, the Bride that Christ is returning for, but the institution of what we have made it. Tired of the institution of church- with all of our traditions and rules and committees and all of our bylaws and our buildings and our and our programs. Ladies and gentlemen there is an awakening happening in a generation and as a collective voice we are saying we are tired of cold, calloused, dry religion. We want the real deal and we will NOT settle for anything less. We are pushing on and pressing into this idea-not a church-but THE church. And as we wrestle with what this looks like consider this your warning, the 50 of us who left JFK a few weeks ago will not be the same 50 who return in a few months.
Yep, so there you have it. Our month is Romania.
